Latest news with #IPSO
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Phony law enforcement phone scam hits Iberia Parish
NEW IBERIA, La. () — A telephone scam by people claiming to be law enforcement in an has hit Iberia Parish. According to the , multiple residents have alerted the IPSO of callers falsely claiming the recipients have arrest warrants in their names, and demanding money to 'clear' the warrant. Similar scams have been previously reported by and , and are . The call usually comes from what appears to be the real agency's phone number. Scammers mask their phone number, so the law enforcement agency's number is what shows up on the caller ID. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Law enforcement agencies will never inform you of a warrant over the phone, threaten arrest over the phone, and will never ask for any payment over the phone, especially via bank transfer or gift cards. IPSO asks anyone who receives a call like this to hang up immediately and alert local authorities. Some of the most popular baby names of 2025 so far President Trump announces 2027 NFL draft will be held in Washington, D.C. Trump vows to bring back American movie industry with new tariff; what this looks like for Louisiana Louisiana survey aims to identify challenges for military veterans, their families Lafayette man killed in West Monroe after sex-for-hire ends in gunfire Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The National
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Free speech and the media have been on my mind this week
'STEWART, please remove these words: the minister is just an insidious wee man.' The above legal note from our lawyers is one I regularly quote to students when chatting to them about defamation law. For obvious reasons of not wanting to end up in hot water, I can't give more specifics linking it to the story in question, but let your imagination run wild – that's probably more fun, anyway. This line was back on my mind this week as questions around free speech were firmly on the agenda. These never really go away, of course, but the spotlight has been particularly intense amid the Kneecap furore. We know the value of free speech at The National. We believe independence supporters, those standing up for Gaza, anti-Trident campaigners and many more whose voices have too often gone unheard must be given platforms. And we know that sometimes this involves harsh things being said. Our job as a newspaper is to facilitate that as far as we can, to find the line and the balance – so within the confines of defamation law and without breaching our responsibilities with IPSO. READ MORE: 'Not a fluke': University rector speaks out after winning appeal over Gaza dismissal But what we must ensure we never do is moderate language to appease the powerful. Another version of The National would be quiet on all these big issues to secure the advertising cash that we don't receive just now as we're seen as too political. We don't do that. Instead, we count on the support of our subscribers and readers to facilitate what we do. We don't try to score brownie points to get ourselves invited to lavish events and political receptions. We represent the voice of our readers. (Image: Owen Humphreys) If politicians go uncriticised and unscathed, we end up with the likes of Keir Starmer in power, handing Nigel Farage's Reform UK (above) the keys to the United Kingdom on a silver platter. And they can certainly afford a good few silver platters, having left Waspi women and pensioners, among many others, out in the cold. So, yes, for legal reasons, we can't print everything that we wish we could. But you can best believe we'll do our utmost to hold the powerful to account without fear of hurt feelings. And maybe this was also on my mind because we have a week-long series about Donald Trump coming up next week, eh?
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
John Wilkes's legacy
The cause of free speech has produced some unlikely champions, but none more so than the 18th-century libertine John Wilkes. By all accounts he was an unsavoury character but for all his flaws he embodied the spirit of liberty that is a defining characteristic of this nation, which is all too easily undermined by indifference and ignorance. Wilkes published an anti-government pamphlet called The North Briton, which in April 1763, carried a sustained attack on the King's Speech. He was arrested and charged with seditious libel – only to be cleared and re-elected to the Commons. Wilkes fought for the right to publish an opinion, however outrageous it might be, without being told by people in power what to say or prevented from saying what they did not want to hear. Until relatively recently, this was the accepted state of affairs in this country, but no longer. In the Commons this week, the name of Wilkes was invoked by Sir David Davis, in response to a ruling against The Telegraph by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). We reported remarks about the Muslim Association of Britain made in the chamber by Michael Gove when he was a minister but were censured because denials by the organisation about an affiliation to the Muslim Brotherhood were not sought. As Sir David said: 'Press freedom is a cornerstone of democracy, and for centuries the right to freely report on the proceedings of this House have been protected in British law. Those freedoms allowing the press to report without any hindrance or conditionality were secured as long ago as 1771 by John Wilkes. While IPSO may think it is being responsible, its reprimanding of The Telegraph undermines those fundamental rights.' Indeed so. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.


Telegraph
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
John Wilkes's legacy
The cause of free speech has produced some unlikely champions, but none more so than the 18th-century libertine John Wilkes. By all accounts he was an unsavoury character but for all his flaws he embodied the spirit of liberty that is a defining characteristic of this nation, which is all too easily undermined by indifference and ignorance. Wilkes published an anti-government pamphlet called The North Briton, which in April 1763, carried a sustained attack on the King's Speech. He was arrested and charged with seditious libel – only to be cleared and re-elected to the Commons. Wilkes fought for the right to publish an opinion, however outrageous it might be, without being told by people in power what to say or prevented from saying what they did not want to hear. Until relatively recently, this was the accepted state of affairs in this country, but no longer. In the Commons this week, the name of Wilkes was invoked by Sir David Davis, in response to a ruling against The Telegraph by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). We reported remarks about the Muslim Association of Britain made in the chamber by Michael Gove when he was a minister but were censured because denials by the organisation about an affiliation to the Muslim Brotherhood were not sought. As Sir David said: 'Press freedom is a cornerstone of democracy, and for centuries the right to freely report on the proceedings of this House have been protected in British law. Those freedoms allowing the press to report without any hindrance or conditionality were secured as long ago as 1771 by John Wilkes. While IPSO may think it is being responsible, its reprimanding of The Telegraph undermines those fundamental rights.' Indeed so.


India Today
21-04-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Hindu groups allying with anti-Muslim far-right, says UK report, sparks row
A report in a British newspaper on alleged links between "Hindu extremists" and far-right groups has sparked a controversy with Hindu groups complaining to the UK's media watchdog. The Mail on Sunday article quoted a police intelligence report which British Hindu groups said lacked inputs and clarifications from the community. The media watchdog cleared the British newspaper, but the matter has now been escalated to its complaint's Mail on Sunday on March 30 reported that British "Hindu extremists" were joining hands with far-right groups over their "shared anti-Muslim views".Hindu groups in the UK called the report baseless and misleading and lodged a protest with the media key area of concern for the Hindu groups was the explanation, "Hindu extremism — which is known as Hindutva," in the Mail on Sunday UK, an advocacy group, said, "This article is not just misleading; it is a textbook example of how biased framing, selective omission, and ideological lens can manufacture a moral panic around a peaceful religious community."It called the article a "factually flawed hit job on British Hindus"."The article repeatedly conflates Hindutva with 'extremism', reducing a rich philosophical tradition to a caricature. Hindutva, quite simply, is the outward expression of Hindu identity," Insight UK said on April Hindu Community Organisations Group (HCOG) Leicester placed a formal complaint with the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). The IPSO, however, has cleared the Mail on Sunday report, according to The Times of letter by HCOG Leicester was about the Mail's claims, which discussed British Hindu extremists forming alliances with far-right groups in Europe over their common hatred of Muslims, without "credible or verifiable evidence," TOI IS IN THE 'HINDU EXTREMIST' REPORT?advertisementThe intelligence report compiled by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) was accessed by The Daily Mail's Sunday edition -- The Mail on Sunday. This report, written by the National Community Tension Team, came two months after the Home Office submitted its rapid sprint on extremism in rapid sprint mentioned Hindu nationalism and Khalistani extremism among nine emerging threats in the UK. The inclusion of "Hindu nationalist extremism" as a threat follows the 2022 riots in Leicester when British Hindus and British Muslims of South Asian origin clashed after the India-Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 match on 28 intelligence report claimed that "extremists" are "feared to be interfering in British elections by telling Hindus which parties to vote for and which to avoid".It also defined "Hindutva" as "a political movement distinct from Hinduism, which advocates the hegemony of Indian Hindus and the establishment of a monolithic Hindu rashtra or state in India," according to the report in The Mail on report discussed a "realistic possibility" of an alliance of Hindutva supporters in the UK aligning themselves with British extremist right-wing organisations due to some "commonly shared beliefs, including anti-Muslim hatred".It also stated that "Hindutva" may worsen community ties between Hindus and other faiths such as Muslims and Sikhs."Tensions between Hindu and Muslim communities in the UK are still evident, and the events in Leicester show how disinformation can play a role in offline action," it NPCC report further revealed that far-right activist Tommy Robinson has already met with some Hindu groups to "promote anti-Muslim campaigns." It also noted that his presence appeared to be welcomed by the Indian media and a minority of British PRESS REGULATOR RESPONDS TO HCOG COMPLAINTSInsight UK said that the entire Mail on Sunday "sensationalist article" was based on a "confidential unreleased report" and didn't have "credible data" and didn't name organisations."No known UK-based Hindu advocacy body or temple has aligned with Robinson's ideology or group. The article fails to cite a single formal alliance, resolution, co-sponsored event, or leader to substantiate this supposed connection," it formal complaint was lodged with IPSO by IPSO refuted the complaints, saying the Mail was reporting on an NPCC even added the claim, "Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik was inspired by Hindutva," reported the report by HCOG convenor Vinod Popat stated that the article had no input from British rejected the claim, saying, "Under the Editor's Code, the articles do not need to be balanced, nor do specific interested parties need to be consulted ahead... unless a published article includes significant inaccuracies."IPSO asked Popat and HCOG to call the police if they felt the article incited religious has appealed his response to IPSO's Complaints Committee. He has written that the article failed to "contextualise the credibility or status of the NPCC report and insinuates widespread community complicity, vilifying the whole community," according to the TOI Watch